Barriers are commonly used at gas pump islands and drive-through businesses, such as restaurants and banks, to keep automobiles a safe distance from equipment and patrons. These barriers often take the form of poles, with or without continuous horizontal cross-members, made of steel or concrete.
Unfortunately, such barriers are generally designed to give catastrophic protection and may in fact inflict minor damage to automobiles and patrons following incidental contact. For example, car doors are particularly susceptible to paint loss or dents when accidentally opened into a barrier. Similarly, patrons of a business can suffer minor abrasions or bruising by absent-mindedly brushing against a barrier.
Similarly, the barriers themselves may also deteriorate over time following repeated minor contact with vehicles. At first, marks left thereon make them unsightly, and repeated damage may ultimately require them to be replaced.
There has therefore been a long-felt but unsolved need to provide resilient protection around such barriers to reduce or even eliminate minor damage caused by incidental contact therewith.